Salmon

Salmon

First Salmon Ceremony welcomes the returning salmon

KEYWORDS: king salmon First Salmon Ceremony puget sound salmon fishing traditions salmon nets ceremonial fish salmon fishing

AUTHOR: Cathy McDonald

TULALIP – Two fires burned on the dirt floor of the Tulalip longhouse, giving off smoke and bits of ash that wafted upward through openings in the top of the building. Hundreds of people filled the wooden platforms built into each side of the structure. Tulalip tribal members sat next to public officials from Marysville and Everett. Visitors from nearby tribes such as the Makah and Suquamish, and even a member of the Hopi and Laguna Pueblos, bumped elbows with guests from Seattle. Three wide-eyed sailors in dress whites watched from a front-row bench.

About 50 costumed men, women and children danced counterclockwise around the edge of the floor, singing, drumming and shaking gourds.

When they finished, Tulalip tribal member Glen Gobin, the master of ceremonies, moved to the center of the longhouse. First Salmon Ceremony welcomes the returning salmon »»

M. E. Bloch - Salmon

Chinnook salmon making a comback, begin their spring migration up river

KEYWORDS: chinook salmon game fish endanged species Columbia River salmon five salmon species in Northwest rivers Columbia River tribes Columbia River spring chinook american indian traditional foods learn about chinook salmon migration chinook salmon chum salmon coho salmon pink salmon sockeye salmon Celilo Indian Village

AUTHOR: Lynda V. Mapes, Seattle Times staff reporter

ABOARD THE MISS ROXANNE – Bright as polished chrome, this monster chinook pulled thrashing from the lower Columbia River fixes its black eye on me as I draw close. Fascinated by its silver sheen, its huge size – it’s nearly as long as my leg – and the untold, unimaginable story of its journey to the deep Pacific and back, I trace my index finger along the slippery slope of its nose.

And then it bites me. Hard.

I yelp and yank back my finger, oozing bright drops of blood.

This mighty spring chinook, still watching me, has delivered its primal message: Chinook are the king of all salmon and nobody’s pet.

Chinnook salmon making a comback, begin their spring migration up river »»

Tribe fears extinction of salmon

KEYWORDS: salmon Northwest environmental news fish management salmon threatened salmon on the Olympic Peninsula Hurd Creek Hatchery Jamestown S’Klallam tribe wildlife management Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Fish Program Washington hatchery programs Naselle hatchery Coulter Creek hatchery Dungeness River chinook runs captive brood chinook returns Western Washington’s hatchery programs endangered native salmon

AUTHOR: Lewis Kamb, Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter

Plan to cut hatchery threatens peninsula runs, manager says

Tribal authorities fear threatened salmon on the Olympic Peninsula would “spiral toward extinction” under Gov. Gary Locke’s plan to close a 2-decade-old state salmon hatchery.

The Hurd Creek Hatchery — one of three state hatcheries targeted for closure under Locke’s proposed budget — is a vital component of salmon recovery in upper peninsula river systems, said Scott Chitwood, fisheries manager for the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe. Without it, he said, “our ability to continue recovery work is severely hampered.” Tribe fears extinction of salmon »»